Vinerean, Simona

Article
Social media marketing efforts of luxury brands on
Instagram

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Reference: Vinerean, Simona (2019). Social media marketing efforts of luxury brands on
Instagram.

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 Expert Journal of Marketing, Volume 7, Issue 2, pp. 144-152, 2019
© 2019 The Authors. Published by Sprint Investify. ISSN 2344-6773
Marketing.ExpertJournals.com

Social Media Marketing Efforts of

Luxury Brands on Instagram

Simona VINEREAN* and Alin OPREANA

Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Romania

Social media offers marketers a broad set of instruments to connect to targeted

customers in a personalized and interactive manner. Different social media platforms
enable different innovative strategies for an organization’s social media presence. In
this framework, Instagram has become a popular social media platform for luxury
fashion brands. This paper explores the area of luxury fashion brands on Instagram
by focusing on key practices that should be implemented in a social media marketing
strategy. The main objectives of this study are: (1) the present the concept of luxury
brands, (2) to examine the social media marketing of luxury brands aimed at driving
consumer engagement, (3) to assess the marketing practices of luxury fashion brands
on Instagram, especially as they relate to influencers and celebrity endorsements.

Keywords: luxury brands, fashion industry, social media marketing, Instagram,

digital marketing

JEL Classification: M30, M31

1. Introduction

As consumers’ engagement rate tends to decrease, luxury brands need to reconsider their digital
marketing strategy and discover new ways to maximize their return on marketing spend. A content marketing
strategy needs to be adjusted to the appropriate social platform for each targeted audience, while grabbing the
attention of key demographics and is, and highlighting compelling calls-to-action with an integrated link to
checkout.
Social media platforms represent an essential resource for consumers, whether they use them for
leisure activities, interacting with friends, or discovering new products and services. More and more, social
media has an important role in the customer journey or decision-making process, influencing every stage from
awareness, consideration, evaluation, to purchase and repurchase. For this reason, marketers are highly
invested in developing social media strategies aimed at acquiring, retaining, and expanding their customer
base. To this end, fashion is considered one of the most important industries since it accounts for a significant
part of the worldwide economy (McKinsey&Co, 2019).
In this industry, luxury fashion plays a key role. A Deloitte report (2017) on millennials’ consumer
behavior found millennials inclined to purchase luxury say they find information from traditional sources such
as magazines, through to videos, websites and blogs. More specifically, 20.5% of respondents find out about

*
Corresponding Author:
Simona Vinerean, Lucian Blaga University of Sibiu, Faculty of Economic Sciences, Romania

Article History:
Received 12 October 2019 | Accepted 29 November 2019 | Available Online 29 December 2019

Cite Reference:
Vinerean, S. and Opreana, A., 2019. Social Media Marketing Efforts of Luxury Brands on Instagram. Expert Journal of Marketing, 7(2), pp.144-152.

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Vinerean, S. and Opreana, A., 2019. Social Media Marketing Efforts of Luxury Brands on Instagram. Expert Journal of Marketing, 7(2), pp.144-152.

the latest high-end fashion or luxury item trends from social media (Deloitte, 2017). Almost all luxury brands
practice social media marketing which is defined as “marketing communications via digital applications,
platforms and media that facilitate interaction, collaboration and content sharing among users” (Kim and Ko,
2012, p. 1480). Social media offers new opportunities for luxury brands to facilitate the lead qualification
process, create brand awareness, and develop the brand as an ‘aspirational brand’. According to Tennille
Kopiasz, Senior Vice President of Marketing at Parfums Christian Dior, “the best way for luxury brands to
inspire consumers has always been through storytelling. As Instagram is a visual storytelling platform, the link
is a natural fit.” (Instagram, 2017).
In this framework, this study examines this unexplored area of luxury brand marketing on Instagram
and examine the key practices high-end brands are currently implementing on social media. The specific
objectives of the study are as follows: (1) to examine the concept of luxury brands, (2) to understand the
premises social media marketing of luxury brands aimed at driving consumer engagement, (3) to evaluate
high-end brands’ popular and specific marketing practices on Instagram, particularly related to influencers and
celebrity endorsements.

2. Luxury Brands on Social Media

2.1. Defining Luxury Brands

A luxury brand represents “a branded product or service that consumers perceive to be high quality,
offer authentic value via desired benefits, whether functional or emotional, have a prestigious image within
the market built on qualities such as artisanship, craftsmanship, or service quality, be worthy of commanding
a premium price, and be capable of inspiring a deep connection, or resonance, with the consumer” (Ko et al.,
2017, p. 2). The main reasons for purchasing luxury brands extend beyond functionality. Customers acquire
luxury brands to gain exclusivity (Berthon et al., 2009), status and prestige (Amaldoss and Jain, 2005). Jackson
(2004) proposes the following as the core characteristics of the luxury product, namely ‘…exclusivity,
premium prices, image and status which combine to make them more desirable for reasons other than function’.
Moreover, luxury brands “possess distinct brand identities and meanings distinguished by specific
associations” (Tynan et al., 2010). Petina et al. (2018), Beverland (2004) and Okonkwo (2009) propose that
the “associations utilized by luxury firms in developing their brand identities usually include (a) authenticity,
heritage, or pedigree; (b) stylistic consistency; (c) quality commitment; (d) unique aesthetic symbolism; and
(e) hedonic and emotional promotional appeals”. Fionda and Moore (2009) reinforce the concept of luxury in
the context of a status symbol that has a profound psychological value for consumers, stating that buying a
luxury brand is a “a highly involved consumption experience that is strongly congruent to a person’s self-
concept.”
The product category of the luxury goods represents a cornerstone of the marketing approach. More
specifically, Chevalier and Mazzalovo (2008) and Lee and Watkins (2016) distinguish between eight luxury
product types: “fashion, jewelry, cosmetics, wine, automobile, hotel, tourism, and private banking”. As related
to the scope of this paper, luxury fashion tends to have a high propagation online due to their social value (Lee
and Watkins, 2016) and hedonic associations. Therefore, luxury fashion brands have the potential to induce
psychological and emotional values among customers and aspirational consumers especially because these
brands have prestige price, craftmanship, exclusivity, and in certain cases, heritage.

2.2. How Luxury Brands Approach Social Media Marketing

Social media offers marketers multiple opportunities to connect with consumers and develop more
meaningful relationships with them. Social media also provides opportunities to create and share marketing
content with targeted audiences, but also repurpose user-generated content to highlight the connection of
customers with a particular brand. Luxury brand marketing on social media has been discovered to have a
positive impact on consumers’ favorable luxury perceptions, desire for luxury, and purchase intentions (Lee
and Watkins, 2016; Chu et al., 2013).
Existing studies on the use of social media marketing by high-end brands shows that despite of the
logical inconsistency between luxury associated characteristics of exclusivity and the accessibility of social
media, brands’ presence on these platforms enhance their visibility and awareness. Social media helps develop
trust with luxury brands (Kim and Ko, 2010) and leads to brand evangelism (Dhaoui, 2014). In the luxury
industry, social media can have an important impact on the brand’s success (Godey et al., 2016), especially as
new trends in social media leads to shorter lifecycles. Moreover, due to the growth of young customers of
high-end products, brands need to constantly innovate their marketing strategies and tactics to stay relevant in
this volatile industry (Kim and Ko, 2010).

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From a general perspective, a wide assumption is that social media is a threat that can harm the
reputation and prestige of high-end brands. The main characteristic of luxury brands is exclusivity, and social
media, that helps develop a mass appeal, is can diminish this main selling point of premium products.
Nonetheless, high-end fashion brands, such as Chanel, Gucci, Prada, Valentino, Elie Saab, Dior, and many
more have developed social media marketing strategies to connect with targeted customers (Lee and Watkins,
2016). Phan et al. (2011) analyzed the social media presence of Burberry, as one of the first luxury fashion
brand to embrace social media, and as a result the profits of the company rose by 39.8%.
As the majority of luxury brands use social media to connect with their consumers, it is important to
comprehend how high-end brands can establish significant and long-term relationships with their customers
by engaging in online conversations and harnessing the power of influence of the brand among targeted
audiences (Chu et al., 2019). As increasingly more high-end brands utilize social media to create meaningful
connections with their customers, it is critical to comprehend how these luxury brands drive consumer
engagement on social media.

2.3. Luxury Brand Marketing and Consumer Engagement in Social Media

In recent years, consumer engagement has received considerable research attention in advertising and
marketing literature (Hollebeek et al., 2014). Vinerean (2016) proposed that customer engagement is directly
and positively related to a number of “relationship outcomes such as satisfaction, trust, affective commitment,
and loyalty” (Brodie et al., 2011). “Customer engagement has great potential to affect customer behavior and
many authors consider it a successful retention and acquisition strategy for establishing and sustaining the
competitive benefits for brand in digital marketing” (Brodie et al., 2013; Hollebeek et al., 2014).
Consumer engagement has been an interesting research topic in recent years, attracting interest from
academics (Hollebeek et al., 2014) and marketers. Nonetheless, not enough studies have focused on consumer
engagement with luxury brands in digital settings. One such study was developed by Dhaoui (2014) who
examined “key attributes of luxury brands to consumer engagement on social media platforms” and found that
a well-established social media strategy can have positive results on WOM marketing and the propagation of
the message, thus leading to a higher brand visibility in online settings.
Pentina et al. (2018) discovered 11 discrete social media engagement behaviors: “1. Following or
liking the brand; 2. EB2: Commenting on brand’s posts and ads; 3. Liking, tagging, and sharing the brand’s
posts on one’s personal newsfeed (which represents the most frequently reported SM behavior); EB4:
Mentioning friends in comments; 5. Tagging brand names and using fashion-related hashtags in posted photos;
6. Publish photos of brand’s Products; 7. Publish photos of oneself with the brand; 8. Explicitly soliciting
comments to brand selfies; 9. Initiating and maintaining brand-related conversations in personal social
networks; 10. Publishing multimedia shopping stories; 11. Modifying the branded product or suggesting a new
interpretation.”

3. How Luxury Brands Approach Instagram

3.1. Luxury Brands on Instagram

With over 1 billion users (Instagram, 2019), Instagram is the fastest growing social media platform
that offers users the opportunity to discover, share, tag, use hashtags, comment and ‘love’ visual content, in
the form of images, videos and gifs. Bonilla et al. (2019) mention that on Instagram “brands and users post
and share outfits that are then commented and voted on by other users, thus also serving as an inspiration for
the brands themselves”. In addition, Instagram has a visual component that connects perfectly with fashion
brands. It has several visual formats, including images, videos, boomerangs, layout, stories and live.
Compared to other social media platforms, Instagram has a higher appeal among consumers because
it offers them the opportunity to take more actions (follow brands, influencers, friends…; visit websites; easily
shop different products or brands they see on Instagram). Other studies (Locowise, 2017; Globalwebindex,
2015) show that consumers tend to shop more often on Instagram, after interacting with brands’ posts and their
level of engagement with brands is far higher on this platform compared to Facebook or Twitter.
Under these circumstances, a 2017 report from Instagram (Instagram, 2017) characterizes luxury
customers who use this popular platforms as “highly driven and successful individuals …, with an average
age of 35, who are tech-savvy, they own more devices than the average global Instagrammer and spend more
time on them than any other group.” Because of its visual extension, Instagram is appropriately used by fashion
luxury brands to extend the brand in social settings. As a result, consumers use the content they see on
Instagram to inspire their future searches, behavioral intention and shopping behavior (Casaló et al., 2018).

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More and more, consumers use influencers to inspire their fashion luxury choices. Figure 1 presents the number
of Instagram followers of luxury fashion brands, as reviewed in May 2019.

Ralph Lauren 10.55

Valentino 12.43
Christian Louboutin 12.43
Fendi 12.8
Givenchy 12.98
Armani 14.28
Burberry 14.61
Michael Kors 14.65
Versace 18.14
Prada 19.58
Dolce & Gabbana 20.87
Dior 25.55
Louis Vuitton 32.07
Gucci 34.26
Chanel 34.9

0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40

Figure 1. No. of Instagram followers (in millions) for Luxury Fashion Brands as of May 2019
Source: Statista.com, 2019

In an effort to bring brands closer to their audiences (current, potential or aspirational customers),
luxury fashion brands develop different practices as part of their Instagram marketing strategy, such as:
- Stories. High-end brands use the 24-hour stories to present ads of their products (Tom Form -
@tomford), magazine spreads that use the high-end products (Gucci - @gucci), making of different
looks (Oscar de la Renta – @oscardelarenta), and so on.
- Live videos. Usually, live videos are used by luxury brands to present their fashion shows (Louis
Vuitton - @louisvuitton).
- IGTV. Instagram TV is mostly used by luxury brands to showcase backstage access of the preparations
for the newly launched collections (Valentino - @maisonvalentino; Tom Form - @tomford) and
advertising campaigns (Balmain - @balmain; Burberry - @burberry; Saint Laurent -@ysl).
- Instagram Shopping. This feature provides luxury shoppers the opportunity to explore and shop for
different products they encounter on Instagram. With Instagram Shopping, companies can “share
featured products through your organic posts and Stories, or have people discover your products in
Search and Explore” (Instagram, 2019). Luxury brands that already apply Instagram Shopping are:
Tom Form - @tomford, Gucci - @gucci, Burberry - @burberry, Balmain - @balmain, Dior - @dior,
Prada - @prada.
- Highlights. Compared to the 24-hour stories, highlights allow a brand to group different old stories in
new thematic sections, that are located below the biographical section of the account. Luxury brands
currently use stories to showcase past runway shows (Tom Form - @tomford), celebrities wearing the
brand (Elie Saab - @eliesaabworld; Givenchy - @givenchyofficial; Valentino - @maisonvalentino;
Tom Form - @tomford), different products (Gucci - @gucci), different collaborations with other
brands (Puma x Balmain @balmain) or store experiences in different cities (Louis Vuitton -
@louisvuitton).
- Filters. Many luxury brands (Valentino - @maisonvalentino, Louis Vuitton - @louisvuitton, Dior -
@dior, Balmain - @balmain, Prada - @prada) have developed special AR (augmented reality) filters
that give Instagram users the opportunity to interact with the brand in a fun manner, while building
brand awareness.
- Custom hashtags: Luxury fashion brands use different custom hashtags (in addition to their usual
hasjtags) to generate higher volume of engaging posts. For instance, Balmain (@balmain) uses the
hashtag #BalmainArmy, and different hashtags to aggregate content related to different collections,
(#BalmainRE20) or to promote particular producs (#BALMAINBBOLD). Similarly, Fendi promotes
hashtags for products (e.g. #FendiBaguette), couture (e.g. #FendiCouture) and collections (e.g.
#FendiPrintsOn).

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Below there are a series of figures that showcase these social media practices that have been
successfully implemented by luxury fashion brands on Instagram.

Figure 2. The use of Instagram shopping by luxury brand “Tom Ford” (@tomford)

Figure 3. The use of Instagram highlights and IGTV by “Valentino” (@maisonvalentino)

Figure 4. The use of Instagram highlights and AR filters by “Balmain” (@balmain)

3.2. Celebrity Marketing and Luxury Brands on Instagram

Celebrities appeal to a common reference group. A reference group represents “a person/group of
people who serve as a reference to an individual in forming values and attitudes, and in so doing provide
consumers with a reference in their purchasing decisions” (Schiffman et al., 2012). Djafarova and Rushworth
(2017) propose that “celebrities’ profiles are at the top of the list of the most-followed pages on Instagram,
frequently used to deliver marketing communication messages to their followers.” Their study (Djafarova and

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Rushworth, 2017) focused on a qualitative research approach that aimed to examine the influence of Instagram
celebrity marketing on purchase decisions. As a result, Djafarova and Rushworth (2017) found that
“respondents' self-esteem is enhanced in buying a product or service that was recommended by a celebrity”.
In social media marketing, “celebrity endorsement is a widely used strategy” (McCormick, 2016).
Luxury brands especially from the fashion sector partner with celebrities to gain access to new markets.
Different types of celebrities, whether they are models, athletes or singers, resonate with different audiences.
As a result, luxury brands contract them to post about a brand in exchange for some sort of payment. Mark
Glassman, in an article from Bloomberg (2019), states that we should expect the trend of using partnerships
between luxury companies and celebrities to continue in upcoming years.

3.3. Influencer Marketing and Luxury Brands on Instagram

Influencer marketing reflects a practice in which influencers are able to influence the attitudes,
decisions and behaviors of their audience of followers (Watts and Dodds, 2007). Instagram (2017) defines
influencers are “ultra-connected individuals, [who] are the first to try out new trends, and their knowledge of
luxury is second-to-none… This power to introduce brands to an audience of consumers that’s often
complementary to that brand’s own Instagram following makes them highly sought-after.” Influencers are
brand ambassadors on Instagram because they integrate different brands into their own lives as they showcase
them on Instagram.
According to De Veirman et al. (2017), by co-creating value with influencers for targeted customers
(for example, by offering them the opportunity to test an item, organizing an event, or offering them sums of
money for their created and shared original content), luxury brands expect influencers to advertise their
products among their base of followers and potential customers. Compared to celebrities, influencers seem
more personable, credible and easy to relate based on their shared experiences and snippets of their life on
social media. In this respect, Casaló et al. (2018) posit Instagram as the “platform that is most used by opinion
leaders (influencers), due to the sense of immediacy that is generated and because of its creation of
communities; and it seems that this trend will continue in the near future”. Social influencers have an important
role in the fashion industry (Wiedman et al., 2010). Casaló et al. (2018) state that Instagram is the platform
that is most used by opinion leaders (influencers), due to the “sense of immediacy that is generated and because
of its creation of communities; and it seems that this trend will continue in the near future” (#Hashoff, 2017).
Consumers seek advice on Instagram from influencers who publish content that match their
psychographic characteristics, to achieve an aspirational self-image that resembles that of the influencer
(Pradhan et al., 2014). In a report by Business of Fashion and McKinsey&Company (2019) estimates that
approximately 86% of companies use influencer marketing. However, the engagement rate for sponsored posts
developed by influencers on Instagram “dropped from 4 percent in Q1 2016 to 2.4 percent in Q1 2019”.
Engagement rate for sponsored posts on Facebook and Twitter is far worse, namely 0.37 percent engagement
rate on Facebook, and 0.05 for Twitter (McKinsey&Company, 2019).

4. Conclusions

4.1. Theoretical Contributions

This paper addressed multiple objectives, highlighted in the Introduction section, to enhance existing
literature in the following areas: (a) the conceptualization of “luxury brands”, (b) social media marketing of
luxury brands aimed at consumer engagement, (c) specific Instagram marketing practices in the context of
luxury fashion brands.
The basis for this study was the luxury fashion sector where social media strategies have been
successfully used to engage and reach customers and aspirational consumers. Academic work dedicated to
fashion luxury brands’ social media strategy is limited. This paper provides new perspectives on this topic.
Previous academic research (Godey et al., 2016; Kim and Ko, 2012; Phan et al., 2011) examined how high-
end brands approached Instagram to develop closer relationships with customers and increase the brand
awareness in digital settings.
In this current business environment, social media marketing actions are part of the promotional mix
in the new brand communication paradigm (Mangold and Faulds, 2009). While traditional media have a
stronger impact on brand awareness, social media communication strongly influences brand image (Godey et
al., 2016). Instagram is targeted for luxury brands because of its visual extension that allow brands to have a
visual storytelling approach. More and more, Instagram is considered the new destination for inspiration and
a new form of ‘window shopping’ as consumers tend to consult this social media platform especially in the
discovery and consideration phase.

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Social media represents an essential resource for consumers in their decision-making process, and for
marketers in developing and maintaining a close brand-customer relationship. In this framework, Instagram
has gained popularity with consumers and marketers, alike. Instagram is a social media platform highly focused
on visual storytelling which creates the perfect medium for products and experiences. Luxury brands have also
adopted this platform to reach potential audiences in a creative manner (Instagram, 2017).

4.2. Managerial Implications

This study addressed multiple Instagram marketing practices that can be successfully implemented in
the context of luxury fashion brands. Through its social media efforts, a company can influence consumers’
perceptions, attitudes, and preferences related to their brand, by pursuing practices that aim to develop brand
awareness and creating a brand image that resonates with targeted customers. Godey et al. (2016) state that
“brands should no longer regard social media marketing as a way to reach consumers, but also as an important
and cost-effective image-building tool.”
On Instagram, luxury brands need to be proactive in developing original, attention-grabbing content
that engages customers. Moreover, original content can also be achieved through partnerships with celebrities
and influencers. The created content aims to enhance the brand’s legacy and reinforce its uniqueness to
potential and current customers, as well as lead to positive behaviors (Herrando et al., 2018). Tools such as
boomerangs, highlights, stories, filters, shopping and so on, have proven to be interactive practices that give
brands multiple creative options to develop the luxury brand image, brand awareness and drive engagement.
Luxury brands who approach Instagram as a social media platform that bridges the gap between the
company and targeted consumers need to focus the storytelling. On Instagram, these storytelling capabilities
can be achieved through the feed, videos, stories, and live videos. The feed should have an editorial look and
be timeless, compared to Stories, where momentary and ephemeral content has a great value. For instance, in
its 2017 report, Instagram reveals that Burberry “led London Fashion Week with 38% of the discussion thanks
to its engaging behind the scenes content”.
Another useful Instagram practice that luxury fashion brands should consider are hashtags. Hashtags
represent an effective practice to mobilize the right audiences on Instagram. Moreover, hashtags are used for
research and inspiration, by marketers and consumers, alike. Nonetheless, celebrity marketing has a significant
role in communicating marketing messages. Similarly, influencer marketing has the advantage of presenting
high-end brand in an informal and accessible context. Therefore, luxury brands have to use Instagram in an
effective manner to reach targeted audiences.

4.3. Limitations and Future Directions for Expanding the Research

One major limitation of this study is the lack of empirical evidence for these propositions. Future
research should focus on developing a quantitative marketing research with primary data to examine the level
of Instagram use to influence luxury fashion purchases, in general and related to a particular high-end brand.
Another idea for expanding this study is to conduct a qualitative research based on text mining and sentiment
analysis to gather new information from users’ comments about their use and perception of luxury fashion
brands’ presence on Instagram. The study could also be extended in developing a cross-cultural research that
examines consumers’ use of Instagram and how they perceive social media marketing practices of luxury
fashion brands.

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